1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to a handle unit which is attached to a trunk board which closes an accommodation space within a luggage compartment of an automotive vehicle for use in opening and closing the trunk board.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a storage space for storing a spare tire and/or a tool set is provided under a floor of a luggage compartment of an automotive vehicle. As shown in FIG. 8, an upper opening of this storage space is closed by a floor board called a trunk board 1. A handle unit is attached to the trunk board 1 for lifting up the trunk board 1 by gripping a handle 30 of the handle unit to open the upper opening of the storage space.
Conventionally, there are many handle units in which a main body and a handle are connected to each other with a single metallic pin. The handle which is rotatably attached to the main body with the metallic pin does not come off the main body even when the handle is subjected to a large pulling force and has the strength that can withstand a long-term usage. Since the independent part such as the metallic pin is necessary, however, the number of parts involved is increased, and the assembling work and part management become complex and troublesome, leading to a problem that the product costs are increased.
To cope with this, there have conventionally been proposed handle units in which, instead of using the metallic pin, rotational shafts are formed integrally on a handle, one of which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,332. In a latch unit described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,332, as is shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C and 7A to 7B of the same document, a pair of rotational shafts (projections) projects from external sides of a handle, and the handle can easily be assembled to a housing by inserting the rotational shaft into bearings (openings) formed in the housing.
In the configuration disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,332 above, however, when the handle is gripped to lift up a trunk board, the force with which the handle is pulled up is applied on the rotational shafts. In general, a trunk board is heavy, and when the trunk board is attempted to be lifted up, a strong pulling force is applied on the rotational shafts, and arm portions of the handle which are linked with the rotational shafts are deflected by the pulling force. As a result of this, the rotational shafts are shifted in a direction in which they come off the bearings, leading to a fear that the rotational shafts are dislocated from the bearings.